Special to the AmNews
Numerous relatives, childhood friends, comrades and spiritual allies packed into the First Corinthians Baptist Church (1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.) last Monday morning, Aug. 18, to pay their respects to one of Harlem’s own shining lights, Tunde’ Ra Aleem.
Back in 2006, Aleem was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rare terminal disease that eventually eliminates the lungs’ ability to absorb oxygen. He was told he only had three more months to live. Incredulously, he defied the insurmountable odds and willed himself to live another eight productive years, in which time he completed three books and three albums.
Arthur Allen and his identical twin brother, Albert, were born into this physical realm on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1946. Their parents were William Austin Allen and Dorothy Phoenix Allen. Upon acquiring knowledge of themselves, they adopted the attributes Tunde’ Ra and TaharQa Aleem to reflect their higher consciousness and lineage of their rich African ancestry.
The native Harlemites came of age on 141st Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues before moving to 129th Street’s St. Nicholas Houses during the late 1950s, then back uptown to 143rd Street to the newly erected Drew Hamilton Houses by the mid-1960s.
As teens, the twins were mentored by Harlem legend Robert “Ironhead” Bradley and became part of his renowned “Gladiators” bodybuilding crew. They continued their disciplined workout ethic throughout their lives, often earning major praise for their sculptured physiques.
During the mid-1960s, the twins, then known as “the Ghetto Fighters,” befriended an unknown, aspiring rock and roll guitarist visiting Harlem from Seattle named Jimi Hendrix. The three young men went on to live, produce and record music together. The twins also participated in a 1966 Harlem concert featuring Hendrix, sponsored by the original Black Panther Party out of Harlem, aka the Fair Play Committee.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, they continued recording music as the Fantastic Aleems, with “Confusion” and “Release Yourself” being a couple of their more popular recordings. They also managed the historic Harlem World nightclub, located on the northwest corner of 116th Street and Lenox Avenue.
The Aleems also worked with Luther Vandross, Rick James, New Kids on the Block and Anthony Hamilton, among others. During the early 1980s, they established Nia Records, a groundbreaking independent label that featured some legendary artists, mainly Marley Marl and MC Shan. By the 1990s, the Aleems headed Konkrete Studios in Times Square, where they continued producing music and mentoring up-and-coming artists such as X Clan and Wu-Tang Clan.
In the new millennium, the twins established Hip-Hop for Humanity, a nonprofit organization “committed to catalyzing entertainment industry entrepreneurs into taking a stance on social responsibility.”
During last Monday’s going-home service, numerous comrades and relatives paid their respects to their fallen warrior as they reflected on his cultural awareness, generosity, kind heart, love for family and sense of humor. Older brother Tajiddin; childhood friend and boxing trainer Billy Giles; musician and close confidant Edwin Birdsong; fellow artist Leroy Burgess; hip-hop legend DJ Marley Marl; and basketball great Earl “The Pearl” Monroe were among those who attended the services.
The Last Poets’ Abiodun Oyewole recalled meeting the Aleems during the mid-1970s and how they recorded “The Super Horror Show” in 1984, before reciting the song’s lyrics to the audiences’ soul clap, and then paid homage to his friend with a new poem.
Sister Fatimah called Tunde’ Ra’s nine children and 13 grandchildren to the front in a magnificent display of her brother’s continuing legacy.
TaharQa Aleem then revealed that their book, “Ghettofighters in Harlem World,” and new Aleem/Burgess album will be released in mid-September before explaining his twin’s last few months while here in the physical form as he coped with the debilitating ailment. Some openly wept as he courageously detailed how Tunde’ Ra expired in his arms Aug. 14, shortly after midnight.
“They say our way is dead. They say our way is no more … Our way lives in our very DNA … I am the living spirit of the Ancient Ones. I am formed from the atoms of all the Gods. I am the yesterday, the now and the all that shall remain!”—Tunde’ Ra Aleem
